Barclay’s going Shariah Finance

What is fascinating about this “bailout”, is that it is rationalized as a way for Barclays to capture a capital investment to shore up its liquidity without going to “government”. Now, this is just rich. Barclays correctly would like to avoid nationalization (i.e., what happens when you get a handout from your own government), but, instead, goes to a “Persian Gulf” investor, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, as if this were not a government (i.e., sovereign wealth based) investment. The only difference is that instead of a friendly government, it is one driven by Shariah-Jihadists. Fantastic!

NOVEMBER 1, 2008

Wall Street Journal (redacted for copyright/space purposes)

Barclays Agrees to Sell Big Stake

Persian Gulf Investors Could Own 32% Of the Bank Under $11.6 Billion Deal

By Sara Schaefer and Carrick Mollenkamp

LONDON — Barclays PLC, seeking to avoid selling stock to the U.K. government, unveiled a £7.05 billion ($11.6 billion) plan to raise capital with an expensive price tag: Persian Gulf investors could end up owning a third of the British bank while getting lucrative interest payments.